 clickable | | The experience of meditation is unlike any other. It is difficult to define because it is an entry into such radical simplicity that we lose even the words to describe it. Because it gently penetrates to the deepest centre of our existence, it involves and influences everything in our life with a marvelous capacity to unify. Past and future merge into the present. Fears and obsessions melt. We see the good in our enemies. We are expanded by love and we expand the world by love. Every contemplative consciousness is able to absorb evil into the good. These are only some of the notes of a great music of being that we become able to listen to by making meditation part of our lives. —from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditation during Lent by Laurence Freeman, OSB |  clickable: The Following is from MorningOffering | "My prayer is that the good God may establish His absolute reign in your heart and in the hearts of all."
— St. Julie Billiart Meditation of the Day "Jesus will turn your sorrow into joy. One can only imagine the shock and bewilderment the Apostles felt when the Lord told them he must go away. Though they could not understand it at the time, his departure was for their benefit. The same is true of the unexpected setbacks and tragedies we experience in this life . . . When I consider the times when I have been confounded by events that seemed so contrary to what I thought God wanted for me, I should be mindful that they were permitted by the Lord's inscrutable providence for my own good, as difficult as that might be to fathom." — Patrick Madrid, p. 251 An Excerpt From A Year with the Bible Recommended Reads Today's Mass Reading - Lent Mass Readings Homily Recommended Reads Verse of the Day "The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings." Jeremiah 17:9-10 |  click to read more | | St. Abraham of Edessa St. Abraham of Edessa (300-360 A.D.), also known as Abraham of Kidunaia, was a rich nobleman from Mesopotamia. He married according to his parents' wishes, despite his desire to give himself totally to God. After the wedding ceremony he fled to a cave and hid himself, leaving only a small window to receive food. He lived there as a hermit, and after the death of his parents gave his inheritance to the poor. The Bishop of Edessa ordained him as a priest and sent him to lead a notoriously sinful city. There Abraham was beaten and maligned for three years until his prayers prevailed and every citizen came to him for baptism. He then returned to his hermitage and lived there the rest of his life. After his brother's death his young niece was left to his care. He set her up to live as a religious in a cell next to his, which she did for twenty years until she succumbed to the seduction of a rogue hermit. She was so ashamed of her sin that she despaired of God's mercy and became a prostitute. St. Abraham prayed for his niece earnestly for two years; then, discovering her location, left his cell and came to her disguised as a suitor. When they were alone he revealed his identity to her, and, pleading with her throughout the night, prevailed upon her to return with him to her life of prayer and penance. She came back to her cell, which Abraham relocated directly behind his own for her protection, and became St. Mary of Edessa. St. Abraham's feast day is March 16th. | Saturday of the First Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 26:16-19 Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised." Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8 R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Verse Before the Gospel 2 Cor 6:2b Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation. Gospel Mt 5:43-48 Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
| This day, . . . Today . . . (Deuteronomy 26:16, 17) If an observant Jew were to ask God which day is his favorite, he might expect the answer to be Saturday, the day that God rested. A Christian might expect the answer to be Sunday, the day of the resurrection. But God's favorite day is today. No, not this date in history, but today, every day, each particular day in which you find yourself. Why? Because today, this very moment, is filled with divine potential. This day is brimming with his power and grace. Remember the Israelites wandering in the desert. God gave them a new start each and every day. Think about the manna that he provided for them to eat; they could collect enough for only one day. Yet it was there anew every morning (Exodus 16:4-15)! Now, as Moses gathers the people on the edge of the Promised Land, he calls them to trust this same truth: today God will provide everything they need; today he stands fully committed to loving them and protecting them. You too have a brand-new day today. Yesterday, with all the mistakes and choices you wish you could change, is behind you. Tomorrow, with all the challenges that might make you anxious, is in God's hands. But today, God is offering you his love. Today, he is offering you his word of wisdom. Today, he is inviting you to follow him. Everyone has many different needs, but in addition to meeting these needs, God offers one gift to every single person every single day: his full attention. Right here, right now, he is offering you his faithfulness and love. He knows what today holds, and he is offering you the wisdom you need to face it. God is not limited to the past stories from the Bible and the ancient saints. Neither is he far away in some future time that you might live to see. "Yesterday, today, and forever," he is with you (Hebrews 13:8). This is the moment when you can come to him, connect with him, and know how close he really is. He knows exactly what you need, and he already has it in hand for you. "This is the day the Lord has made" (Psalm 118:24)! "Jesus, thank you for this day. Open my eyes to the grace you have for me, grace that is perfect for today." Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
Matthew 5:43-48 |  clickable | All earthly joys are finite glimpses of eternal bliss. But because we tend to hold on to what we see with our physical eyes, we tend to forget what can be seen only with the eyes of Faith. And so it is that Heaven is always remote from our thoughts and removed from our daily experiences. —Mother Angelica from God, His Home, and His Angels | "Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways...." | Let us pray:
Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart. | From Franciscan media:
"This day God commands you to observe these statutes and decrees with all your heart and with all your soul. . . . Yahweh is to be your God and you are to walk in God's ways and observe these commandments. You are to be a people peculiarly God's own." Deuteronomy 26:16, 18 "This will prove that you are sons and daughters of your heavenly Father, for his sun rises on the bad and the good, he rains on the just and the unjust alike. . . . Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God does toward you." Matthew 5:45–48 STARTER PRAYER "God, I have to be honest with you. I am not sure I know how to do this. I am not sure I want to be one of your 'peculiar' people." | From Bishop Barron today :
"Friends, today's Gospel tells us to love our enemies so that we may be like the Father. What is the Father of Jesus Christ like? Well, listen: "He makes his sun to rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." In every case, his grace comes first, and grace is all that he has to give. This is why the comparison to the sun and the rain is so apt. The sun doesn't ask who deserves its warmth or its light before it shines. It just shines, and both good and bad people receive it. Neither does the rain inquire as to the moral rectitude of those upon whom it showers its life-giving goodness. It just pours—and both just and unjust people receive it. Reflect: Is your love like the sun and rain, poured out on all, or is it
conditioned by certain judgments? If it is conditional, pray about what
things keep you from loving more freely and less judgmentally" |  click to hear the bible verse | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Matthew 6:14-15 (Listen)
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Thank You Jesus | |
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